Bafana Bafana striker Percy Tau has made a bold claim that he was not happy with some grey areas head coach Hugo Broos touched on especially about his mental issues.
Broos has helped change the fortunes of Bafana since his arrival three years ago, guiding the team to the podium at the last Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, qualified for the upcoming AFCON in Morocco while he is on the brink on booking Bafana’s ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It hasn’t been all rosy with the coach who the country has gotten acquainted with his frankness on several matters including his selections and opinions on players and clubs.
Tau revealed to Robert Marawa on #MSW0n947 on Wednesday that he too has had moment he didn’t like the coach’s approach and has said as much to the Belgian mentor.
“A lot of times [he has said something that I did not feel was right] and I have engaged with him about that,” said Tau.
“It was these issues of [Al] Ahly when there were just so much reporting from Ahly, one of those was saying I was having depression, mentally, going for therapy and he also came and spoke out about that. And I said coach, ‘I think mental issue is a serious issue, you shouldn’t take it lightly’. If we were to engage about that don’t take it from the outside at least speak to me and engage with me and ask me Percy, are you really struggling, what’s happening.
“Because when you read about it from the media it loses its value whereby mental health is a serious issue and I’m not going through that. So, what I was dealing with in Egypt, there was just so much media a lot of the reporting 90% was incorrect and the 10% was when I’m on the pitch either we lose, or I assisted or I scored that was correct, but the rest of the things were just people making it up.
“And of course the coach is in South Africa, he reads these things, and he cares about the player he wants to engage, and he speaks out. But I said the approach could have been ‘let’s at least speak on the phone so that you understand that I have no mental issue it’s just these people who are reporting and I cannot go every time and reply to them because I still have to play football’.
“But yeah, that’s the one [incident] that stands out.”
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